How do voters feel about Trump team's handling of Jeffrey Epstein case?
Republicans are evenly split as the White House copes with MAGA demands for more disclosures from the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking case.
- A new Quinnipiac University survey released on July 16 shows almost two-thirds of voters disapprove of the Trump administration's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.
- Only 17% of registered voters approved of the Trump administration's actions in the Epstein case, versus 63% who disapproved.
- Trump and other top administration figures had ginned up expectations of blockbuster Epstein revelations, until Trump's Justice Department and the FBI closed the case.
- Only 32% of voters in the poll approved of Attorney General Pam Bondi's role in the Epstein controversy.
Voters aren't happy with how President Donald Trump's team is dealing with the controversial Jeffrey Epstein case as the MAGA family feud over the deceased financier's sordid past continues to divide Republicans.
A new Quinnipiac University survey released on July 16 shows almost two-thirds of voters disapprove of the administration's handling of the case, a week after the Department of Justice and the FBI released no new files and concluded that the convicted sex offender died by suicide in his jail cell.
Just 17% of registered voters gave the Trump administration a thumbs up when asked about the Epstein fallout, versus 63% who gave them a thumbs down.
The president is working overtime to smother the divide, expressing bewilderment and anger at his supporters' fixation on the Epstein case.
"I don't understand it, why they would be so interested," Trump told reporters on July 15. "He's dead for a long time. He was never a big factor in terms of life. I don't understand what the interest or what the fascination is. I really don't."
On July 16, the president lashed out on Truth Social over what he called the "Jeffrey Epstein hoax," railing at "my PAST supporters have bought into this (expletive), hook, line, and sinker."
The Quinnipiac poll shows an almost even split among GOP voters, however, with 40% approving compared to 36% disapproving, with another 24% saying they don't have an opinion. Democrats and independents overwhelmingly have expressed displeasure, with 83% and 71% disapproving, respectively.
Attorney General Pam Bondi catches Epstein blame
The idea that there was a massive cover-up of child sex trafficking involving powerful people in the Epstein case became an article of faith among Make America Great Again figures that Trump and his closest associates stoked.
"I am on every list, except the Epstein list, we haven't heard anything about that one in a while," Donald Trump Jr. said at a Turning Point Action event last year.
"It's almost like they're trying to protect those pedophiles for some reason, I can't imagine why," he added.
But now MAGA voices are turning their skepticism toward Trump officials, questioning their motives and demanding more disclosures in a case steeped in misinformation and conspiracy theories.
"There's a debate going on about who's pure MAGA, it's a sort of a purity test and when you have a lot of extremists in the coalition they're going to demand that someone − a major player, a major faction or wing of the coalition − is also pure or true to the cause," Matthew Dallek, a historian and professor of political management at George Washington University, told Paste BN.
There has been a particular anger among right-wing activists at Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Asked how Bondi is handling her job, 32% of voters said they approve compared to 53% who disapprove, the Quinnipiac poll found. Other officials close to the fallout aren't seeing the same type of backlash.
FBI Director Kash Patel, for instance, has about 36% of voters approving of his job versus 47% who disapprove, while Dan Bongino, the bureau's deputy director, has a 34% approval rating compared to a 41% disapproval rating.
Patel and Bongino, before joining the administration, were voluble in their uncompromising view that Epstein had trafficked minors to elite figures and that there was a cover-up. Both have now insisted the case is closed.
But Bondi has been under an intense microscope after the attorney general indicated there was an Epstein client list and invited right-wing influencers to the White House to get more information on the convicted sex offender.
This story was updated to add a poll graphic.